 Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and is a city of green gardens and historic sites. It is also renowned for its orderly design, clean, spacious, elegance, and its colorful celebrations and festivals throughout the year. While Adelaide values its past, it is very much a modern city with excellent local food and wine, which gives rise to plenty of street side restaurants and cafes. Although easily accessible by foot, an extensive public transport system of trains, coaches, and buses are available throughout the metropolitan area.
To the northeast, are antiquated 19th Century villages and the many wineries of the Barossa Valley region while the east and south side presents Australia's largest river, the Murray River, and the rolling hills of the Fleurieu Peninsula. Further to the southeast and offshore is the beautiful Kangaroo Island with an abundance of wildlife and rock formations.
City center attractions include Victoria Square, Adelaide Town Hall, Edmund Wright House, Central Market, National Aboriginal Cultural Institute - Tandanya, and Ayers House.
Victoria Square (VS)
 At the center of the city is Victoria Square filled with government buildings of colonial days. These buildings now stand as reminders of a bygone era. The center of attraction in VS is the General Post Office, an impressive building with an elaborate main hall and a clock tower. Opened in 1872, it was hailed (at that time) by some as the grandest office in town. On the corner of Wakefield Street, to the east of VS, stands St. Francis Xavier Catholic Cathedral. The original cathedral, built in 1858, was a simpler building and expansion was carried out and completed only in 1996. The newly completed cathedral has a new spire added. Lastly, the Magistrates Court to the south of the square is also worth admiring.
Adelaide Town Hall
Edmund Wright designed the Adelaide Town Hall in Italianate style and had it built in 1866. It instantly became the most significant structure on King William Street. Until today, this building is used for concerts and civic receptions. The most notable features of the building include its grand staircase and highly ornate and decorative ceiling.
Edmund Wright House
Edmund Wright House was designed by well known architects Edmund Wright and Lloyd Tayler for the Bank of South Australia. Expert craftsmen were imported to South Australia to create elaborate marble columns, handsome woodwork, and ceiling decorations that cannot be reproduced today. Opened in 1878, it was to be demolished in 1971 when the bank sold the building to the development group, Mainline Corporation, whose intention was to demolish it and replace it with a 19-story office block. However, Adelaide optician Charles Wright led a team of protesters called "Save the Bank" on a seven month campaign to protest against the destruction of the building. A successful campaign, the government purchased the building for A$750,000 on November 18, 1971. In 1972, the building was renamed Edmund Wright House and after extensive renovations and restorations, it opened again in 1973 as the new office of Births, Deaths and Marriages. In 1997, Edmund Wright House again went under extensive refurbishment and become the permanent home of the History Trust of South Australia.
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